Pentaerythrite tetranitrate explosive



Patented Nov. 4, 1947 PENTAERYTHRITE TETRANITRATE EXPLOSIVE HansMiiller, Othmarsingen,

Switzerland, as-

signor to Schweiz. SprengstoH-FabrilrA.-G., Dottikon, Switzerland NoDrawing. Application April 20, 1942, Serial No. 439,767. In SwitzerlandFebruary 13, 1941 6 Claims.

This invention relates to an explosive of high brisance or explosivepower, and more particularly to a pentaerythrite-tetranitrate explosive.Lately, nitropentaerythrite has obtained an increased importanceasexplosive for military purposes. use by itself owing to high shocksensitiveness and lack of security against firing strokes. Varioustrials have been made already to overcome these drawbacks and additions,composed principally of trinitrotoluene and tetraacetate ofpentaerythrite have been proposed. Existing publications also deal withthe general use of aromatic nitro compounds for phlegmatisation of thenitropentaerythrite. For example, a mixture of 50% nitropentaerythriteand 50% trotyl (trinitrotoluene) result in the explosive known aspentryl. Until now trinitrotoluene obviously has been used in purecondition only. The term "phlegmatising agent is used in thisspecification to indicate substances acting to decrease the shocksensitiveness of the explosive.

Experiments which I have made, show that crude nitrotoluene owing to itscontent of dinitrotoluene, as well as pentaerythrite-stearate constituteexcellent phlegmatising agents for nitropentaerythrite.

The object of the present invention is to provide a high brisant, lowshock-sensitive explosive, particularly for military purposes, on thebase of pentaerythrite-tetranitrate, comprising a phlegmatising agent.According to the invention this is constituted by apentaerythrite-stearate, preferably the tetrastearate. Also crudetrinitrotoluene may be added.

It is already known to use tetraacetate of pentaerythrite for thispurpose, but this substance has the disadvantage of considerablyreducing the explosive power, since a great proportion of the substancemust be added in order to obtain the required phlegmatising action. Thefollowing table gives data indicating the efliciency of a fewphlegmatising agents:

The pentaerythrite-stearate has hitherto not This substancehowever isunsuitable for been used as phlegmatising agent for nitropentaerythrite.It has the surprising advantage of a high phlegmatising action, which is86 times greater than that of trinitrotoluene, 46 times greater thanthat of dinitrotoluene, and 5.7 times greater than that ofpentaerythrite-tetraacetate. The combined use of crude trinitrotolueneand pentaerythrite-stearate results in a surprising increase of thephlegmatising action and provides the possibility to obtain explosivemixtures capable of being cast and pressed. The melting temperature ofthe castable mixtures is between and C.

If desired it is also possible to replace trinitrotoluene bydinitrobenzene. It is also possible to replace the whole part oftrinitrotoluene by dinitrobenzene.

In order to, save costs it is also possible to replace thepentaerythrite stearate up to 95% by parafiin without deterioration ofthe good quality of the explosive.

EXAMPLES 1. Mixtures capable of being pressed only Per cent (a)Nitropentaerythrite 92 95 Pentaerythrite-stearate 8 5 (b)Nitropentaerythrite 65 -75 Crude trinitrotoluene 34.5-24.0Pentaerythrite-stearate 0.5- 1.0

2. Mixtures capable of being pressed and cast PercentNitropentaerythrite 40 -6() Crude trinitrotoluene 39.9-39.0Pentaerythrite-stearate 0.1- 1.0

Further mixtures are:

Percent Pentaerythrite-tetranitrate 30 60 Dinitrobenzene 69.9-39Pentaerythrite-stearate 0.1 1.0

Pentaerythrite-tetranitrate Mixture of pentaerythrite-stearate withparaffin 1:1 l0 5 While the invention has been described in connectionwith some specific examples of my improved explosive, it is obvious thatmodifications may be made in the particular composition of the mixtureswithout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as definedin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A high brisant explosive of decreased shock sensitiveness, comprisinga mixture of tetranitrate of pentaerythrite and at least 0.1% of astearate of pentaerythrite as a phlegmatizing agent.

2. A high brisant explosive of decreased shock sensitiveness, comprisinga mixture of tetranitrate of pentaerythrite and at least 0.1% of atetrastearate of pentaerythrite as a phlegmatizing agent.

3. A high brisant explosive of decreased shock sensitiveness, comprisinga mixture of tetranitrate of pentaerythrite, crude trinitrotoluene, andat least 0.1% of a stearate of pentaerythrite as a phlegmatizing agent.

4. A high brisant, low shock-sensitive explosive comprising a mixture oftetranitrate of pentaerythrite with phlegmatising agents composed ofabout five to ten per cent of a mixture of pentaerythrite-stearate andparafiin in substantially a 1:1 ratio.

5. A high brisant, low shock-sensitive explosive comprising a mixture oftetranitrate of pentaerythrite with a phlegmatizing agent composed ofabout five to ten per cent of a mixture of a tetrastearate ofpentaerythrite and paraflin in substantially a 1:1 ratio.

6. A high brisant, low shock-sensitive explosive comprising a mixture oftetranitrate of pentaerythrite, and phlegmatizing agents composed ofabout 0.1 per cent to 1.0% of stearate of pentaerythrite and about 39 to69.9 per cent of dinitrobenzene.

HANS MtiLLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

